​An outdoor fireplace can transform your Batavia, IL, landscape by becoming the focal point of your backyard escape. Its warmth will encourage friends and family to gather, and the fire itself will set the mood for a romantic get-together. You can ensure a long-lasting and beautiful outcome for your outdoor fireplace project by opting for natural stone. This material choice will add to the elegant experience you are creating while also providing you with confidence that your investment will serve you for years to come. Its ability to absorb, store, and radiate heat makes natural stone the perfect pairing with a warm fire, night after night.  

Durable Outdoor Material

Since natural stone comes from the earth, it has the capacity to withstand some of the extreme weather in Illinois like rain, sleet, snow, ice, hail, and heat. It is often the preferred choice for a variety of landscape features specifically because it offers protection from the risk of bends, splinters, dents, or swelling that could strike features made of wood or metal.

Related: Choosing the Perfect Material for Your Outdoor Fireplace in Geneva, IL

Low Maintenance Building Material   

There is no painting, staining, or intensive upkeep required with natural stone. Since it does not suffer from terrible mold, splinters, and rot like some other building materials, it can easily be cleaned and will withstand pressure washing.  

Natural Stone Offers a Timeless Design

Many homeowners with both modern and traditional styles have used their outdoor fireplace as a centerpiece for their backyard. As landscape design trends change and the desire to add your outdoor space continues, your outdoor fireplace made of natural stone will continue to fit in with its surroundings. This is because this material complements many other construction materials and architectural styles. It has the ability to pull of an elegant yet natural feel in a backyard setting that is both relaxing and impressive.

Related: Style Your Outdoor Fireplace with a Beautiful Stacked Stone Look in Burr Ridge, IL


Wise Investment for Backyard Structures

Natural stone has been around since the beginning of time. Ancient buildings made from stone masonry have far prevailed many others, while continuing to maintain their beauty and in fact getting more beautiful with age. The uniqueness of each stone creates a rich authentic look, making your outdoor fireplace a feature that will add value to your property. Your fireplace will be a statement within your backyard that will create a sense of indoor comfort, while giving you the ability to enjoy the outdoors a little while longer when the seasons change.

A Beautiful View

Using natural stone for your outdoor fireplace will give your backyard a luxurious feel. The variety of colors and textures available gives you the flexibility to create the ambiance you desire, whether your priority is creating a fun place for entertaining guests or a relaxing area for intimate nights in your outdoor space. Your outdoor fireplace can be as modern and simplified as you like or be a more complex construction. Materials like limestone and soapstone can create a clean look, weathering elegantly over time, while bluestone and brownstone have earthy appearances that pair well with plants and a lush green lawn.

Eco-Friendly and Chemical Free

Natural stone is free from radicals and chemicals unlike pressure-treated wood and other stone substitutes. Especially when considering a fireplace, you want to choose building materials that will be safe and long lasting.
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​A fire pit can be as simple as you want it, or you could add versatility and luxury with the addition of attachments and accessories. Take your new Lisle, IL, fire pit to its full potential by considering these accessories.

Related:  Warm Up Your Evenings with an Outdoor Fireplace!

Discrete Storage

Once you get your fire going and are relaxing next to it, you won’t want to leave. This is where a small storage container would be perfect to make sure you have everything you need for a night by the fire. An essential item for any late night fire is a cozy blanket. With a nearby storage container, you won’t need to go back inside for it. Storage is especially perfect for a fire pit that is off the patio and far from your back door.

Storage attachments also offer a great place to keep your handy marshmallow roasting sticks for late night s’mores. Having a dedicated container makes for a tidy area by allowing you to keep all of your fire pit tools in one place. One thing to keep in mind when choosing a storage container is that it protects its contents from the elements and from getting too hot.

Related:  4 Warm and Welcoming Outdoor Fireplace Designs

Grill Pad

If you like grilling things over a fire, then this is the perfect fire pit accessory for you: A grill pad can be securely attached to the side of your fire pit protruding upward about 20 inches. It is equipped with a hand crank that controls the height of the grill pad so that you can control the temperature at which you cook. If you need to cook something a little slower like chicken, raise it higher. The other benefit to this feature is the ability to safely move the grill piece with the crank rather than trying to maneuver handling a hot piece of metal with a flimsy tool or pot holder.

Ash Guards

Ash guards are a great accessory especially for those who have a fire pit close to the home. Ash guards are made of a highly fire-resistant metal shaped into a tight screen. This screen is usually formed into a shallow dome that you place over your fire pit, essentially blocking any large ash particles from making it out of the fire. Not only does it save you the headache of ash scattered across your patio, but it also makes your fire pit and its surroundings safer. Along with keeping the ash contained, it blocks any unwanted embers from leaving the fire. Ash guards come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Smokeless Fire Pit Insert

Smokeless inserts are a must for anyone who frequently uses their fire pit. It effectively minimizes smoke through a secondary combustion process. The insert has two metal walls that have a gap in between them. When there is a fire inside the pit, it heats up the air in between the two walls, channeling the smoke toward the top of the insert. From there, the air exits through holes pointed toward the top of the fire. This pushes the smoke back into the fire, thus burning and eliminating it. If you are currently designing a fire area in your landscape, a smokeless fire pit attachment can be as luxurious as a fireplace with a chimney. Both will effectively keep the smoke out of your and your guests’ faces.

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Natural stone is a favorite material of landscapers and designers alike because of its versatility and beauty. If you want to incorporate natural stone into your Downers Grove, IL, outdoor living space but aren’t sure how, we’ve got some ideas that can help. Here are three ways to use natural stone to enhance your landscape design.

The Surface of Your Patio

The patio is the main entertaining space for enjoying the outdoors at home, and having a solid and stylish patio foundation is the key to enjoying this favored space. The flooring of your patio is important and can set the tone for the rest of your landscape design. Natural stone is a great choice because of its longevity and aesthetic appeal. Limestone and Sandstone, two commonly used natural stones, are both timeless choices. The deep gray Limestone in Black River provides a fresh look for any design, and contrasts well with potted plants and flowers. Sandstone in Autumn Harvest combines rustic textures with sandy beige colors that are a complement to any yard. No matter the size of your patio, natural stone’s large format will maximize the feeling of space. Unlike wood or poured concrete, the surface of natural stone can withstand inclement weather like snow without cracking or breaking down.

Related: Why Choose Pavers over Asphalt for Your Naperville, IL, Driveway


New Walkways to Better Enjoy Your Plantings

Walkways add definition and character to the home, guiding you through the property to the backyard, into the house, and around the grounds. Walkways constructed of quality pavers will greatly complement an already beautiful landscape. Specially placed planters alongside them can turn time spent walking through your yard an always enjoyable experience. You may prefer natural stone pavers for this purpose as a stunning contrast to your flowers and plants. Use the cool gray Limestone in Winter Mist to make a stepping stone pathway. To add whimsy, you could have tufts of grass left intact in between each stone. For larger walkways, add accent pavers on the border of your natural stone walkway. Then choose an area of your walkway to add in an arbor, defining your walkways and adding space for climbing foliage.

Pool Deck for Easy Stepping

Pool decks require the right type of surface to deal with the constant water exposure they receive. Whether indoor or out, natural stone can ease the transition as barefoot swimmers make their way out of the pool and don’t want to land on a surface that is too hot to the touch. Sandstone in Stone Cliff Grey is hard and durable but still feels soft underfoot. It’s immune to warping induced by temperature changes. The lines and shapes occurring naturally in the sandstone provide interest and contrast well with accent pavers like Mattoni. The color absorbs the right amount of light to prevent harsh glares and keep cool. The large format makes it perfect for bigger projects like pool decks, enhancing the space and accommodating for heavy foot traffic. The style of Sandstone in Indian Coast goes beautifully with the water and creates a natural looking oasis.
When it comes to projects demanding both stylish appeal and practicality, Limestone and Sandstone pavers are winners.

​Very few yards start off as an absolutely perfect canvas for trees, plants, and flowers—particularly if they are hilly. The hills can muddle your vision of an ideal Geneva, IL, landscape, and they likely cause runoff and erosion issues, too. A multi-tiered retaining wall system can remedy those back and front yard hill problems.

How Retaining Walls Function

A retaining wall is designed to hold back the earth behind it to create usable space in the rest of the landscape. While this is an obvious advantage, they can also reduce or even eliminate erosion and any dirt piles that accumulate from runoff. Chances are that any water issues you have not only affect your home and property but also produce a problem for any neighbor who receives the runoff from your yard. Once a retaining wall corrects the hill and runoff problem, you can transfer your attention to better things—like how you want to beautify the new space you’ve opened up.

Related: 4 Tips for Creating Beautiful and Functional Retaining Walls in St. Charles, IL

Multi-tiered Retaining Walls

Whether for the back or front yard, multi-tiered retaining walls can bring order and symmetry to what feels like an out-of-control landscape. If you have a hill with a gentle slope, two-tiered retaining walls can provide just enough correction to give more yard for the kids to play outside, or for a patio area to adjoin the house.
Indeed, multi-tiered retaining walls can open up space to give you places to do the things you love. Many walls can be constructed with deep tiers to allow for vegetable and flower gardening. If you have children, a tier can be designated as a play area with a sandbox and play structure. Or perhaps it could be home to a pergola that provides a relaxing spot for you to read or enjoy a favorite beverage after a long day.
Multi-tiered walls can be constructed of different materials. Natural stone is a popular choice and fits any landscape and home architecture. The stones can be very large and rustic, or smaller and stacked to produce a strong, clean look. You can achieve the look of natural stone with manufactured stones. These wall units result in a very uniform appearance, if that’s your preference, and can be in nearly any color you want. If you love the look of wood, the wall sections can incorporate large timbers segmented with vertical stone columns. The overall look of mixed wood and stone could be wholly unique in your landscape.
While you may have begun looking into multi-tiered retaining walls to fix a hill problem, the process can involve the fun of thinking about how the finished product can reflect your style and design preferences.

Related: Why Retaining Walls Are a Must for Your Sloped Downers Grove, IL, Yard

Extra Features

Once you have decided on how the multi-tiered retaining wall will fit and look in your landscape, consider adding low level-lighting to bring your wall and landscape to life at night. The lights can be set on an automatic timer so that all you have to do is enjoy the special nighttime landscape. A water feature could take the special ambience even further. One could be incorporate to most any wall to add in the soothing sounds of running water for an extra measure of relaxation.

When entertaining friends and family, or just enjoying the outdoors on a nice evening, an outdoor fireplace can bring an extra distinctiveness to your landscape. Heading home after a long day, you can anticipate the relaxation that awaits you when you light the fire and sink into a comfortable chair. When choosing an outdoor fireplace for your Downers Grove, IL, home, consider these warm and welcoming designs.

How an Outdoor Fireplace Adds Value

Any real estate professional will tell you that having an outdoor fireplace adds value to your property. It can even be a pivotal selling point for a home. But, more important, an investment in an outdoor fireplace will bring many advantages to you. Whether you fire it up during a nice summer night or a cool evening, you’ll give yourself warmth and something to admire after a long day. It’s also a gathering spot that friends and family members will find difficult to resist. You could even cook in your outdoor fireplace—everyone loves to roast marshmallows for s’mores! Enjoying the laughter and fun that crowding around the outdoor fireplace brings is truly priceless.

Two-Sided Fireplace

A fireplace that is open on two sides gives more room for guests to gather. You can choose a sleek and contemporary stone fireplace to complement your patio area or a more rustic stacked-rock look. This fireplace allows for gathering on both sides, so it is perfect for those who love to have parties as well as those who’d rather have more intimate groupings of friends over for dinner and drinks.

Concrete Fireplace

The simplicity of a cement fireplace can bring beauty to an outdoor space. This option can resemble nature stone and complement the materials you use in your pillars or retaining walls. You could also your material choice to guide your material decision for nearby built-in seating. Seating could include removable cushions and pillows for flexible comfort and decoration.

Related: A Guide to Fire Pit Safety

A Stone Fireplace with Natural Hues

If you love the colors of nature and want a fireplace that blends with the surroundings, then stones in hues of browns and tans could be what you are looking for. With a large square or arched opening, this outdoor fireplace lends visual weight and texture to your outdoor area. You can have additional openings connected to hold additional dry firewood, and cap it all with a decorative chimney of stone or copper.

Traditional Brick Fireplace

A brick fireplace can bring beauty and warmth to any outdoor space as it works with any architecture and exterior paint colors. Consider adding a deep hearth for guests to sit and warm themselves right in front of the fire.

Wood or Gas

Today’s fireplaces offer a choice of fire methods. If you love the smell and natural crackle of wood burning, then a wood-burning fireplace can take you back to happy memories of other fun times around a fire. But if you don’t want the mess and clean-up of wood, you can choose to have a gas outdoor fireplace that turns on and off with the flip of a switch. The choice is yours.

​Talk with landscape professionals about what type of outdoor fireplace you envision for your yard. With the expertise and experience that comes from years of designing outdoor fireplaces, they can turn your dream of an outdoor fireplace into reality.

Related: Picking Outdoor Furniture That Matches Your Outdoor Fireplace in Downers Grove, IL